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Chris Coleman praises 'heroic' Wales performances in win over Georgia

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Chris Coleman was delighted with his players sticking to the game-plan as Wales secured a vital 1-0 victory away in Georgia

Chris Coleman praised some "heroic"' performances from his Wales players as they beat Georgia 1-0 in Tbilisi to strengthen their World Cup qualifying bid.

Tom Lawrence's second-half strike gave Wales the vital victory in Group D. Wales will secure play-off qualification if they avoid defeat against Republic of Ireland in a crucial clash on Monday, and can even win the group if they beat Martin O'Neill's side and Serbia fail to beat Georgia.

And Coleman, who led Wales to the semi-final of Euro 2016, said the desire and commitment shown by his side was incredible.

Wales' Tom Lawrence celebrates scoring his side's first goal of the game during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying, Group D match against Georgia
Image: Wales' Tom Lawrence celebrates scoring his first international goal

He told Sky Sports: "It was a tough surface, very slippery, very wet, and we found it difficult at times handling the ball. We got in great situations we didn't capitalise on, but overall the commitment and desire was incredible.

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"It's always tough to come here, but it's all about the points and about the win. Apart from a couple chances, they had a lot of possession, but our guys stuck to the gameplan and some of the performances out there were heroic.

"One more to go, and all we can do is our work, and we're doing that. It's another clean sheet. All we can do is take care of our business.

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Highlights of Wales’ Group D World Cup qualifier against Georgia in Tbilisi

"It's a huge test, as big a test as it gets against Ireland, all we can do is do our homework, get onto the pitch with our game plan.

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"It's fantastic; all the way through I always felt it would go to the wire in the last game, whether for automatic or a play-off spot. Here we are, it's what we've always wanted and we'll enjoy it. We'll enjoy it even more if we make it."

Lawrence scored his first Wales goal with a fierce strike after half-time, and Coleman praised his defensive work as well as his attacking threat.

Otar Kakabadze (L) and  Aaron Ramsey vie for the ball during the FIFA World Cup 2018 qualification match between Georgia and Wales
Image: Otar Kakabadze (L) and Aaron Ramsey vie for the ball

"I'm delighted for Tom, he's moved to Derby, a big move for him, and he's already shown his potential. He's shown great courage tonight, because defensively he had to do a job for us, and he did it fantastically well. His all-round performance was fantastic."

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